


New Big Brother

by Brain_Deadx0



Series: New Big Brother series [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Because I can, Fluff, Foster Care, Gen, Mention of forcing someone to cut their hair (past), Native American Remy, Play Fighting, Slight manipulation but for good stuff, Trans Deceit | Janus Sanders, nerf guns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28930998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brain_Deadx0/pseuds/Brain_Deadx0
Summary: Foster care Remy au. Remy moves in with his new foster dad Patton and his 6yo son Virgil.
Relationships: Patton is dad - Relationship, remy is new big brother, virgil is son
Series: New Big Brother series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161287
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	1. New Big Brother

Remy watched the various buildings pass by in a blur. He wasn’t paying much attention really. It wasn’t until the buildings turned into houses that he realized he would probably need to look less like a mannequin used for fake carpools. 

The neighborhood looked decent at least. Very white-people-suburban they liked to show on tv commercials. At least that usually meant there was a Starbucks around. Remy always was a basic bitch when it came to coffee. 

It wasn’t much longer before the social workers car pulled up outside a light blue house with a small tree in the front yard and various flowers in the small garden. He was gonna be living with the smiling white couple from those commercials wasn’t he? 

As if summoned by his thoughts the door opened to reveal the dad character. Khaki shorts and all. 

Remy was probably told his name at some point but couldn’t be bothered to remember it. He’d been told so many of his “parents” names over the years only to be passed off to new ones shortly after. They all tended to bled together. 

Remy grabbed his bag of clothes and followed the social worker to the door. 

“Hi, my names Patton.” Dad character told him when they got to the door, “You can call me dad if you want or anything that makes you feel comfortable.” 

“Cool.” 

Dad character- Patton, smiled brightly at him as if Remy was still five and had actually called him dad. Well, if nothing else at least he cared how he looked in front of the social worker. 

Speaking of, she was saying something about needing to do one last check before actually dumping him there. 

“Of course, come on in!” The man told her. 

Remy followed them inside and looked around. It was a nice place from what he could tell. It was clean, for now, and there was a bookshelf in the living room being used as a movie case. Mostly kid movies from what Remy could see so this guy was probably used to fostering little kids. Maybe that’s why he looked so fidgety. Remy was probably his first teenager. Whatever. 

“You can stay here while Mr. Sanders shows me around.” The social worker told him. Remy didn’t remember her name. His old social worker was named Linda, but she retired two homes ago. Wanted to focus on making a family or something. Whatever. 

“Oh, um, sure. Make yourself comfortable.” Dad character told him. 

“‘Kay.”

Dad character stared at him with that same smile again before the social worker cleared her throat, “Mr. Sanders. The house.”

“Oh, right. Uh, right this way ma’am.” He told her before the two went further into the house; leaving Remy alone. 

“Are you my new brother?”

Or not. 

Remy did _not_ jump, _”Shit.”_

Remy looked around for the source of the voice but saw no one, “Uh… hello?”

“Are you my new brother?” The voice asked again, “Why do you have a garbage bag?”

“Because I’m trash.” Remy answered casually as he tried to narrow down where the voice was coming from. 

The house was too new looking to be haunted so his best guess was another foster kid hiding… somewhere. That or the guy was secretly a murderer and killed all his foster kids. 

The voice giggled and Remy was pretty sure it was coming from the living room now so he walked over to it. 

“You don’t look like _trash.”_

“And here I woke up thinking I looked like crap.”

“You’re not allowed to talk bad about yourself though ...Or say bad words.”

“Oh yeah? Says who?” 

“Dad.”

“Never met him.” Remy told him. 

There was a pause before, “Yeah you did? He’s the one who let you inside.” 

Remy pretended to think for a minute since the kid seemed able to see him, “Nope.” He said, popping the p, “Not ringing a bell.”

The kid snickered, “Yuh-huh.” 

“Nope. I have short turn memory loss. Everything goes in one ear and out the other.” 

“Like Dory?” 

Remy once again did _not_ jump when a head appeared from under the couch. 

“Don’t know her either.” Remy said as the kid started up at him expectantly. 

The kid, probably about six, seemed to consider that for a second before disappearing back under the couch. 

Remy watched in confusion as the kid wiggled out the other side and ran over to the movies. He looked through them for a minute before pulling one out and showing the cover to Remy. 

“This is Nemo. And this fish-“ he pointed to a blue fish, “is Dory. She doesn’t remember anything either. But she does remember important stuff like her friends. And her name.” He seemed to think for a moment, “You remember your name right?”

Remy couldn’t help but laugh at that, “Yeah. Do you remember yours?”

The kid nodded, “I’m Virgil.”

“Well Victor-“

“No! Not Victor, _Virgil._ Vir-gil.” The kid giggled. 

“Vinny, got it.” Virgil laughed again but didn’t correct him, “Anyway the names Remy.”

The kids face lit up, “Like the rat!” 

“... Excuse me?”

Virgil quickly turned to put the fish movie back before grabbing another with a rat on it. This one was called Ratatouille apparently. 

“His name is Remy too.” Virgil told him as he pointed at the cartoon rat, “He can cook.”

“Well damn,” Remy snapped his fingers in mock disappointment, “one upped by a rat.” 

“Don’t worry. Dad can’t cook either.” Virgil told him. 

“He can’t?” 

“He tries.” Virgil chirped, “But like movie Remy says “everyone can cook but that doesn’t mean everyone _should_ cook.” … dad shouldn’t cook.”

Remy huffed a laugh, “He can’t be that bad.” 

“Once our mac and cheese caught on fire.” 

“... the kind you make in the oven?” Remy couldn’t help but ask. 

“No. It came in a box and he put it in water.”

“Oof. Maybe I should learn to cook.” 

“Do you wanna watch it with me?”

“... are we allowed to?” 

“Uh-huh. Dad taught me how to do it all by myself too.” Virgil told him proudly. 

“Sweet.” Remy nodded, “Pretty soon you’ll be driving right?”

“I can’t _drive._ I’m only…” He paused to count his fingers, “Six!” He held up seven fingers. 

“That’s a good age. Don’t get old like I did. Growing up is a trap.”

“Dad says that too.” The kid said, “But he also says that I could live to be a bajillion years old and still be his baby. But I’m not a baby!” He said pointedly, “I’m a big kid.”

Remy smirked, “I can see that.”

“So do you wanna watch movie-Remy?” The kid asked. 

Remy thought about saying yes, years of taking care of younger kids made him soft dammit, but before he answered he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. 

“Alright Mr. Sanders everything seems to be in order. I’ll schedule a visit for a month from now and I’ll be making surprise visits randomly until then. If you have any problems you know how to contact me.” The social worker told dad character before turning to Remy, “And Rem-”

“Yeah yeah. Stay out of trouble and call if he’s not good at his job. I know the drill.”

“Well, if there’s nothing else I’ll be leaving then.” She told them. 

“Bye Barbara, thanks for your help.” Dad character told her. 

“I’ll be in touch, Mr. Sanders.” She told him before walking out the door. 

“O-Kay then.” He said before turning to face Remy, “Oh, I see you’ve met Virgil.” He seemed surprised by that, but then again the kid had been hiding under the couch when they met. 

“Dad! His name is Remy like in Rattooy!” Virgil told him excitedly, “We were gonna watch the movie.”

“That sounds nice.” Dad character told him, “How about you show him the house and then I’ll order us some pizza and we can watch the movie together? Does that sound ok to both of you?” 

“Yes!” Virgil was practically vibrating. 

Dad character looked to Remy for confirmation. 

Remy shrugged, “Sure.”

“Any preference on pizza?” 

“No.”

“Pineapple, yes or no?”

What was this a test?

“Sure.”

Dad character seemed out off by that but Virgil let out what must’ve been a victory laugh, “Told you pineapple is good!” The kid told him. 

The man smiled, “Well I suppose I’ll be the one with the personal pizza this time.”

“Can I show him the house now?” Virgil asked. 

Dad character chuckled, “Go ahead.” 

“Yes! Come on, Remy!” The kid said before grabbing Remy's hand and pulling him. 

“Uh, I can walk by myself, you don’t need to hold my hand.” Remy told him as he was pulled up the stairs. 

Virgil turned back to him with big eyes, “But what if you get lost? You don’t know where anything is yet.”

“Guess I can't argue with that…” Remy said. _Stupid puppy eyes._

“Good.” The kid told him before he continued pulling Remy up the stairs. 

“So,” Virgil started when they made it to the second floor, “this is the bathroom. It’s where we take baths, go potty, and brush our teeth. You have to brush your teeth twice a day even if you don’t want to.” He told him seriously. 

“Good to know.” Remy said before being pulled further down the hallway. 

“This is the closet where all the towels and bed stuff is.” Virgil pointed to the door next to the bathroom before pulling again. 

“This is my bedroom.” He said when they stopped in front of a room with a sign with the kids name on it, “You can play with my toys if you want but you have to ask first. And knock. It’s not nice to not knock.”

“I promise to knock then.” Remy told him. 

“Ok good.” Virgil said before pulling him to the door at the end of the hall, “This is dads room. If you have a nightmare you can sleep in here and dad will protect you.”

Remy doubted that applied to himself, but nodded anyway before being pulled back the way they came. This time they stopped at the door across from Virgil’s. 

“And this is your room! Now remember. It’s right across from mine. If you get scared you can come get me. Just… let me know it’s you and not a monster…” The kid said sheepishly. 

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” Remy told him, “Can I go in now?” He asked when the kid stood there smiling. 

“Yeah!” Virgil let go of his hand and opened the door, “It’s kinda boring right now but dad said we could person-o-lies it after you got here so you would like it more.” He said as the two of them walked into the room. 

Remy looked around at the standard room. There was a desk with a lamp against one wall, a dresser against the other, and the bed in the corner with a small nightstand next to it that held an alarm clock and lamp. 

Remy opted for just setting his bag on the bed for now. He’d sort through it later. 

“Can I ask you something?” Virgil asked after Remy set the bag down. 

“Shoot.” Remy told him. 

“Are you tough?”

“What?”

“Big brothers are supposed to be tough.” The kid told him, “You don’t look tough though.”

Remy let out a laugh, “For one, I’m plenty tough, and two, who told you that?”

Virgil looked down and shrugged, “At school a bunch of the kids have big brothers and they’re all really tough…”

“So you wanted to know if I qualified?” 

“Kinda.” He kid looked at him again, “But I wouldn’t be mad if you weren’t tough either!” He reassured him. 

“Oh yeah? What if I was a wimp?” Remy asked in amusement. 

“Oh… well I guess I’d have to protect you then. But I’m not very tough. I’d try though!”

“Good to know. But don’t worry about it. I can take care of myself.” Remy told him. 

“That’s good.” Virgil smiled, “Wanna go downstairs again? I can show you whats down there too. And sometimes if it’s been a really good day or a really bad one, dad gets the candy off the top shelf and we can eat it before dinner instead of after!” 

Remy agreed and followed the kid back downstairs where dad character was putting the rat movie in. 

“Oh good you guys are back. Did you like your room?” Dad character asked, “I know it’s pretty bare, but I figure we could go to the store some time before school starts and you could pick out some stuff.”

Oh yeah sure. “Before school starts” was enough time to conviniently forget. Whatever. The room was nice enough on its own anyway. 

Dad character seemed to realize that Remy didn’t plan on responding to that, “The pizza should be here before too long. But I have some candy in the kitchen that we can snack on until it gets here. Whadda ya say?” He asked. 

“Say yes!” Virgil whispered excitedly next to Remy. 

“Uh, sure?”

“Yes!” Virgil cheered. 

Dad character laughed, “Is there any kind in particular you want?” Remy shook his head, “Well then I guess I’ll just bring all of it.” Dad character smiled, “You guys go ahead and get comfortable and I’ll go get the candy.”

At Virgil’s insistence, Remy sat next to him on the couch. It wasn’t long before dad character came back with many large bags of candy, seriously who has that much candy in their house at one time? And they settled in to watch the movie until the pizza came. Remy wasn’t sure if or how long it would be this way, but let himself enjoy the moment in the new house. 

Whatever. 


	2. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton takes the boys shopping and gets an idea
> 
> Chapter warnings: Mention of forcing someone to cut their hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn’t check the tags, Remy is Native American in this.  
> ... Also I no longer remember malls.

It had been three days since Barbara dropped Remy off at Patton’s house. Patton was glad to see that not only was Virgil surprisingly still extroverted around him, but that Remy seemed to enjoy, or at least not mind it. 

Patton would be lying if he said he had been entirely confident in taking in a teenager. But when he asked Virgil if he would want a sibling and his preference when it came to one, Virgil was so insistent on wanting an older brother. Patton had assumed he meant an older elementary school age, but Virgil quickly told him otherwise.

Patton just couldn’t say no to him in that moment. Besides, he knew that teenagers had a harder time getting placed and if he had the ability to give one a home, and his first son was more than ok with it, who was he to deny one of them a home?

He smiled as he heard Virgil giggling in the living room. Patton knew Remy didn’t really have much of an opinion of him at the moment, it had only been three days of course, but he couldn’t help but wish Remy would be a bit more open. So far the only time they had been alone to talk was the first night after Patton had carried Virgil to bed after their third movie. But even that was just attempting to set up some ground rules and getting Remy’s input. Or at least trying to. 

He had hoped that giving him a few days to settle in would get him to relax and open up a bit, but so far he could barely get three words out of the teen. 

Maybe once they got all the stuff for his room and some clothes for school he would loosen up more. Patton had to go back to work next week and didn’t want to wait till the last minute anyway. 

~

Remy was honestly surprised when dad character brought up going shopping only a few days after he had first gotten there. 

“School starts next month and we need to get you guys new school supplies anyway,” Dad character told him as he carefully plucked the pop tarts out of the hot toaster, “We’ll be spending all day in town so we might as well get some stuff for your room too.” He smiled. 

“Okay.” Remy told him. 

“Is there anything in particular you want in your room?”

“No.”

“That’s ok,” dad character told him brightly, “sometimes you don’t know what you want till you see it.”

Remy shrugged and dad character continued to smile. Honestly didn’t this guy have a neutral face? It seemed like he hadn’t stopped smiling since they met. Remy's face was starting to hurt just from watching the guy smile all day. 

…

A little over an hour later they pulled into the mall parking lot. 

“Ok so does everyone remember what we’re supposed to get?” Dad character asked. 

“Stuff for Remy's room!” Virgil told him. 

“And school clothes.”

Virgil frowned, “Do I _have_ to get new clothes? Can’t I just wear the ones from last year.”

“Sorry, kiddo, but your old clothes don’t fit you anymore. By the end of the school year your pants’ll be shorts.” 

“I can wear shorts.” The kid chirped. 

Dad character laughed, “Sorry kiddo but we have to go clothes shopping.”

“Aw…”

“When we’re done we can go get icecream.”

“Ok.” Virgil said before quickly climbing out of his car seat and hopping out of the car, “Come on, Remy!” Remy smirked before climbing out his side of the car. 

~

They started out looking for shoes and Patton was disappointed but not surprised when Virgil couldn’t seem to pick out a pair. 

“What about these ones?” Patton asked as he picked up a display shoe. 

Virgil shrugged again and Patton put the shoe back. Remy had wandered off a few minutes before to look for his own shoes. Patton hoped he was having better luck than Virgil. As if summoned by his thoughts, Remy came back carrying a shoebox. 

“Oh did you find some?” Patton smiled. 

“Yeah. Are these ok?” He asked before showing him the box. 

“As long as you like them and they fit.” Patton told him, “Are those ones for school or are they your play shoes?”

“... What?” 

“We have to have nice shoes for school and then another pair for when we’re at home.” Virgil told him. 

“Yep. Everyone needs a good pair of shoes to get dirty.” Patton agreed. Next year he would let Remy use his old school shoes as play shoes if he didn’t want to get another two pairs, but his current shoes looked pretty worn out and were fated for the trash sooner than later. 

“Can I see?” Virgil asked; pointing at Remy's shoe box. Remy opened the box to reveal a pair of plain black sneakers. “Cool.” 

“What about you?” Remy asked, “Pick any shoes yet?” Virgil frowned and shook his head, “Yeah there’s a lot to choose from, huh?” Virgil nodded. 

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Purple?” Virgil told him. 

“Well, there can’t be too many shoes with purple, right?” Remy told him, “What kind of shoe?”

“... I don’t know…” 

“Hm… high heels?”

That caused Virgil to giggle, _”No.”_ he told him. 

“Ok.” Remy told him seriously, “What about tap shoes?”

“No.” Virgil laughed, “I need shoes for playing and stuff! Not dance shoes.”

“So that’s a no on the ballet slippers?” Remy asked; causing Virgil to giggle again. Patton smiled and scanned the shelves for some purple sneakers. 

“Hey Virgil,” Patton asked, “if Remy's ok with it would you wanna help him look for his second pair while I see if I can find some you might like?” He glanced at Remy but the teen didn’t show any signs of opposition. 

“Can I?” Virgil asked him excitedly. 

“Sure.” Remy glanced at Patton in confusion but didn’t say anything before walking back over to the adult section of the shoes. 

~

Remy was pretty sure he knew what dad character was doing when he subtly asked Remy to watch Virgil. Virgil was too short to see the man over the shelves but Remy saw him looking at the purple shoes in the girls section. Remy didn’t care really, but if the guy wanted him to distract the kid for a few minutes while he grabbed a few pairs, he supposed it wasn’t too much trouble. 

“What about this pair?” Virgil asked; pointing to another pair of black shoes. 

“Nope. Not dark enough.” Remy told him. 

“But they’re all black?” 

Remy shrugged. Honestly he didn’t care all that much about which shoes, and the kid was pointing out pairs that he wasn’t actually opposed to, but he was having fun messing with him a bit. 

“Oh what about these ones! These ones are cool!” Virgil told him excitedly as he pointed at a pair of boots. And ok yeah they were. But-

“Those are pretty expensive, dude.”

Virgil frowned and looked at the price. Remy could see the little gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out how much they were in kid perspective. 

“They aren’t _that_ much?” He tentatively decided, “We can ask dad?”

“Ask dad what?” Dad character asked as he walked over with a few boxes of shoes. 

“Dad are these too expensive?” 

_‘And here we go.’_ Remy thought as dad character looked at the price tag. Whatever. 

“No, why?” He asked, “Did you want these?” He asked Remy. 

“He didn’t say no.” Virgil piped up. Traitor.

“There’re ok.” Remy shrugged. 

“You can get them if you want.” Dad character told him, “Although-“ ok _now_ here we go, “-we should probably get some insoles for them just in case.”

What?

“They don’t always have the most comfortable soles in them even after you break them in.” He finished, “So did you want them?” 

“Uh, I guess?” Remy shrugged. 

“Ok then,” Dad character smiled, “I got some shoes for Virgil to try so how about you find a pair that fits and then we can grab some insoles when we’re done?”

“‘Kay.” 

The man smiled at him before turning back to Virgil to show him the shoes he had grabbed. 

~

Patton was glad that Virgil was eventually able to decide on two pairs of shoes without much fuss now that there were fewer options around. They placed the four shoe boxes, and a pack of insoles, in the cart before going to browse the current stores clothing sections. 

“Ok so everyone needs at least seven pairs of pants and shirts.” Patton reminded them, “If you see something you like just put it in the cart and we’ll sort through in the dressing rooms, ok?”

Once again Patton set out to try and get Virgil to pick out clothes without much luck. But unlike the shoes, where Virgil seemed more or less impartial, Virgil was a bit pickier about shirts. 

“What about this one? You like this show.” Patton asked as he pointed out a shirt with a cartoon character on it. Virgil shook his head. Alright then. “How about this one? It’s funny?” He said as he pointed to a different shirt with writing on it. Another shake of the head.

“Do you have any ideas on what shirts you want?” Patton asked. He was met with another no, “Wanna just walk around a bit and see if anything sticks out to you?” 

Virgil shrugged which was the closest thing he had gotten to a yes so far. 

~

Remy steered clear of the graphic t section since those were always expensive as hell, especially at the mall, and went towards the plain shirts, also expensive but not quite as much. Designer brand this, designer brand that, it’s a fucking t-shirt. He picked out a few short sleeved shirts and grabbed two long sleeved before going back to where Virgil and dad character were. 

“Did you find some you liked?” Dad character smiled when he noticed Remy, “Can I see?” He asked at Remy's shrug. 

Considering he couldn’t exactly tell the guy no, Remy shrugged and draped the shirts over the side of the cart, “There’s nothing on them.” He told him. 

Dad character didn’t seem bothered by that as he happily inspected the shirts, “These are nice.” He told him before placing them fully in the cart. 

He… didn’t even look at the price tags this time. 

…

They spent a couple more hours getting most of the things they needed for school. Virgil eventually agreed to enough shirts and they grabbed several pairs of jeans. 

“Does anyone need to use the bathroom before we start looking for coats?” Dad character asked. 

“No.” Virgil told him as Remy shook his head. 

The man sighed, “Well I do,” He told them, “so Virgil why don’t you come with me and try?”

“Can’t I just stay with Remy?” The kid asked.

“Well…”

_“Pleeeeease?”_

The man looked questionaly at Remy. 

“I can keep an eye on him.” Remy told him. 

“Yes.” Virgil grinned. 

“Are you sure?” Dad character asked, “You don’t have to watch him if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“Alright. How about you guys head over to the coats then and I’ll meet you there?” He asked. 

“‘Kay.” 

“Ok then,” The man said, “I’ll be right back.” He told them before he headed for the restrooms. 

“Ready to find a coat?” Remy asked the kid when dad character was gone. 

“Yeah.” Virgil told him in a very “no” way. 

Remy chuckled, “Sooner we look, sooner we finish.” He told him before grabbing the cart and leading the kid over to the coat section. Remy quickly found a decent black hoodie with white accents and tossed it in the cart. 

“Ok Vincent-” Virgil giggled, “-let’s find you a coat.” Remy told him. 

“Ooh look at this one!” Virgil told him as he ran over to a nearby rack.

“Sweet.” Remy told him as Virgil pulled what looked like a leather jacket off the rack. 

“Try it on, try it on!” Virgil told him. 

Remy laughed, “Why?”

“‘Cause it’s cool and it’s too big for me.” He told him, “Please.” He asked with puppy eyes. 

Remy shook his head but agreed to try it on. 

“Told you it looked cool.” 

“Of course it does. I’m the one wearing it.” Remy smirked, causing Virgil to laugh. He took the coat off and placed it back on the hanger. 

“You don’t want to get it?” Virgil asked. 

“Nah.” Remy told him, “Leather jackets are definitely cool but this one is fake leather. It’s made out of plastic and won’t last long. Plus it’s _way_ overpriced for pleather.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. And the real stuff costs even more.” 

“Why?”

“If you know what you’re doing they can last forever.” Remy told him, “Plus they’re cool.” He looked at the jacket again, “Anyway I already got a jacket so let’s find yours.”

“Ok!”

~ 

Patton smiled at Remy and Virgil’s interaction. Remy was a lot less guarded when it was just the two of them and it was easier to tell what he was thinking. 

Patton pulled out his phone and sent a text to his brother. 

_‘hey I need a favor’_

~

Remy and Virgil were in the kids section to find Virgil a coat by the time dad character came back. 

“There you guys are.” The man smiled, “Find anything?” He asked as he looked in the cart, “Oh this ones nice.”

Remy shrugged. 

“What about you, Virgil? See any coats you want?” He asked. 

“Not yet.” 

“Well let’s keep looking then.” Dad character smiled, “Then we can pay and go get some lunch.” 

“Good.” Virgil told him. 

… 

After lunch in the food court they moved to a different store to get school supplies and look for things for Remy's room. 

“If we finish shopping soon enough maybe we could go get haircuts too.” Dad character suggested as they grabbed some pencils and notebooks, “Then you boys will be all ready for when school starts.”

Remy couldn’t help but frown at that. He’d been trying to grow his hair out for years, but every family he’d been in wouldn’t let him. It was just starting to get long enough to cover his ears too. 

Dad character must’ve noticed his expression, “Is there something wrong?” He asked. 

“No.” He lied. 

“Remy, if there’s something you don’t like I’d rather you tell me.” The man told him. 

Remy waited a minute for the guy to drop the subject but he just kept looking expectantly at Remy. Remy sighed, “Do I have to get a haircut?” He asked. 

“Not if you don’t want to.” 

_Wait what?_

“Really?” 

“Of course not.” Dad character smiled, “Can I ask why you don’t want to cut your hair? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to though.”

Remy crossed his arms and looked away, “ts’gnst’cture…” he mumbled. 

“What?” 

Remy huffed before looking back at him, “It’s against my culture…” he told him. 

“What’s that mean?” Virgil asked. 

“If something is against your culture it means it’s something you’re not supposed to do.” Dad character told him, “For Remy that means he’s not supposed to cut his hair, right?” 

“Pretty much.” Remy told him. 

“How come your hair is short then?” Virgil asked.

Remy shrugged, “A lot of people don’t think boys should have long hair even if it’s part of their beliefs.”

“That’s dumb.” Virgil told him, “Long hair is pretty.” He looked back at dad character, “Right dad?” 

“Right.” He confirmed. 

“Do I still have to get a haircut?” Virgil asked. 

“Not if you don’t want to.” 

“Can I not get one then?” 

Dad character laughed a bit, “Sure.”

“Yes!” Virgil grinned. 

Remy was once again surprised by the man’s lack of resistance. Even in the good houses the adults would just keep nagging him until he gave in and got a haircut. “Why aren’t you making me get a haircut?” He asked. 

Dad character looked at him, “Well,” he started, “for one thing it’s your hair, it’s not my place to tell you what to do with it, and it’s not hurting you, in fact it’d probably hurt you more if I made you cut it.” 

… whatever. 

Dad guy smiled and they went back to shopping. 

…

Remy starred up at the ceiling as he laid under the new comforter dad guy noticed him eyeing and insisted on getting him. Which was honestly how Remy ended up with all the new things in the new room. Remy actually had to talk him _out_ of buying stuff. Seriously what did this guy even do for a living where he was willing to throw a bunch of money out the window for a foster kid?

He absentmindedly ran his fingers through the hair on the back of his head. 

Maybe the guy really wasn’t bad. 

… Whatever. 


	3. Virgil's Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remy meets Pattons brother and nephews then proceeds to get murdered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Food mention, play fighting including nerf guns, slight manipulation but for good stuff, let me know

Remy was _not_ nervous. 

When dad guy had asked him a few days ago if he would be ok with going to the man’s brother’s house for lunch that weekend, Remy had said, “Sure.” He’d agreed to it. 

So no. Remy wasn’t nervous. Even as they pulled up to the frankly huge house in a neighborhood of huge houses. 

Definitely not nervous. 

Virgil was practically vibrating in his seat. He’d been telling Remy all about his uncle and cousins, and what games they could play together the entire drive. 

“Everybody ready?” Dad guy asked as he turned the car off. 

“Yep!” Virgil told him as he quickly unbuckled himself. 

Dad guy sent one of his questioning looks to Remy via the rear view mirror. Remy ignored it and climbed out of the car to follow Virgil who had already ran for the front door. 

Dad guy joined them at the door as Virgil rang the bell. Remy wasn’t trying to hide behind them. They just ended up closer to the door. There was the sound of a lock being turned before someone inside the house hollered for them to come in. 

As soon as they walked through the door there was the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. 

_“Virgil! Uncle Patton!”_ A pair of voices yelled before two young boys were launching themselves off the stairs towards them. Dad guy yelped in alarm as he attempted to… catch them? 

“Jan, your boys are going to give me a heart attack one of these days!” The man yelled through his subdued laughter from his place on the ground. 

“And I’ll help them get rid of the body.” The voice from before called. A moment later a short man appeared from what Remy assumed was the kitchen. He looked a lot like dad guy save for the fact he was definitely older than the man. And the mild scarring on the left side of his face. 

“Alright boys, that’s enough abunculicide.” The man told the kids who were laughing in dad guy’s arms. 

“Aw…” The pair said before releasing him. 

Dad guy smiled before standing up and ruffling their hair causing one grin and the other to balk and try to fix it. 

“You must be Remy.” The man said, “My name’s Janus, it’s nice to finally meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Remy told him. 

Mr. Janus smiled, “You can call me Janus.” 

Yeah that was not happening. 

“The two terrors who ambushed you all are my sons Roman and Remus.” 

“I’m Roman.” “And I’m Remus.” The two introduced with matching bows, _“And together we’re-!”_ They spun in opposite directions before striking poses back to back, _“-the creativitwins!”_

Remy couldn’t help but laugh slightly at the theatrics as dad guy clapped excitedly, “Oh that was so cute!” Dad guy told them. 

_“No it wasn’t!”_ The pair told him pointedly, “It was _cool._ ” Roman told him. 

“Yeah!” Remus agreed. 

“Well whatever it was, I loved it.” Dad guy told them. 

“Lunch will be ready in about a half hour,” Mr. Janus told them, “So you can all make yourselves at home.” 

“Can we go outside?” Remus asked. 

“Yes, but-” before the man could finish both boys took off running. 

“Come on Virge!” One of them called. 

The next thing Remy knew he was being grabbed by the hand and pulled towards the back yard, “Come on Remy!” Virgil told him. 

Guess he was going outside. 

~ 

“-Don’t get too dirty.” Janus finished lamely as all the minors fled to the backyard, “Well I tried.” 

Patton chuckled, “Probably should’ve started with that part.” 

“How many sons did you want back alive?” He asked. 

Patton laughed, “Come on, I’ll help make lunch. 

~ 

Remy watched the younger kids from his seat on the porch steps. Roman suggested playing super hero’s and was met with agreements until he suggested Virgil be the villain. Which apparently happened a lot. 

“Come _on,_ Virgil.” Roman whined, “We need a bad guy!” 

“But I always lose when I play the bad guy.” Virgil told them, “Why can’t you be the bad guy and we fight you?” 

“Because me and Re are the heroes.” Roman said as if it were obvious. 

“We could be bad guys.” Remus told him, “The bad guys are cooler anyway.” 

“Noooo.” Roman told him, “We’re the creativitwins! We’re supposed to be the good guys!” 

“But we’re _always_ the good guys!” Remus replied. 

“Remy!” Virgil called, “Tell them we wanna be the heroes!” 

“How about…” 

~ 

Patton jumped when the mostly silent backyard suddenly erupted in gleeful screams. 

“Welcome to the world of raising multiple children.” Janus told him. 

Patton smacked his arm lightly before going to peek at the yard. The three younger boys were running around the yard at top speed as Remy made a grab for whoever got closest to him. Patton smiled as Roman yelled for a retreat before all three kids ran for the treehouse. Remy stalked after them, giving the twins enough time to make it to safety, but grabbed Virgil before he could climb high enough. 

Virgil squealed as he was pulled away from the tree and yelled for help through his laughter. 

Patton cooed at the sight before reluctantly going back to the kitchen. 

~ 

Virgil laughed wildly even as Remy used him as a partially successful human shield. If he had known there were fully loaded nerf guns, Remy would’ve made it harder for them to get to the treehouse. 

“Don’t worry Virge!” One of them yelled, “We’ll rescue you!” 

“Dead or alive!” The other added. 

Remy laughed, “It’s not a rescue if you kill him!” He told them as they continued to shoot. 

“Silence feind!” The first one told him before firing more foam bullets at them. 

_“Any ideas?”_ Remy asked Virgil quietly. 

_“I think there’s more guns on the porch?”_ Virgil whispered back. 

_“Perfect.”_ Remy grinned, “Muwahaha! You can’t defeat me!” He told the pair in the treehouse before running towards the porch with Virgil. 

Once there he put Virgil down and the kid directed him to where the extra nerf guns were. The ones in the hidden storage bin were much smaller than the ones the twins had. 

“Virgil! You’re not supposed to help the bad guy!” 

“Ha ha! I put him under mind control!” Remy told them, “Now I have a minion.” 

Virgil snickered before rushing to grab a gun of his own.

“You won’t get away with this, villain!” 

“Let him go or face our wrath!” 

“Never!” Remy called back, _“Pick up as many bullets as you can, but don’t shoot too much, ok?”_ He whispered to Virgil, _“When they run out we can go after them, cool?”_

_“Yeah!”_ Virgil whispered excitedly. 

It took longer than Remy thought it would for the rain of foam to slow to a stop. “It’s over, heroes. Surrender peacefully and I might spare you.” He told them. 

He could hear hushed laugher from the treehouse before one of the boys replied, “Okaay~ just a minuute~” 

“Uh-oh.” Virgil said beside him. 

“Uh-oh?” 

He didn’t have to wait long to figure out what the kids were up to because a second later he was being pelted with various balls, ranging from ping pong to tennis. Before he even had a chance to recover, one of the twins was suddenly right next to him and whacking him with a foam sword. 

“What the- hey!” He laughed before trying to fend off the nine-year-old. While he was distracted, the other one had made their way to the ground as well and ambushed him from behind. “Oh shhh-!” He cut himself off as he fell. 

The second kid had hit the back of his knees with a foam club. This was definitely not a fair fight. 

While the twins were busy beating him to death he suddenly felt the familiar sensation of foam bullets. 

“Wha-? Virgil! I thought you were on my side?” He asked incredulously, causing Virgil to laugh, “Betrayed by my own brainwashed minion!” 

The kid just giggled harder, “I was just _pretending_ to be mind controlled!” He told him as he continued to fire the toy gun. 

The kids screamed in delight as they assaulted him with their various weapons. Remy was ready to admit defeat and call them off when a voice interrupted. 

“Alright, boys, that’s enough.” Dad guy said. 

_‘Oh shit.’_

~

Patton’s heart broke a little as the joy on Remy’s face quickly melted away to something much more subdued. He sent him what he hoped was a reassuring smile but it didn’t seem to help any. “Lunch is ready.” He told them. 

_“Okay.”_ the younger kids chorused before dropping their weapons and racing inside. 

“Are you alright?” Patton asked, “They might be foam but they can still hurt when the boys get excited.” 

“I’m fine.” Remy said casually as he stood up and brushed himself off. 

“Alright then.” He smiled, “Then let’s go eat some pizza bread.” 

~

"Pizza bread" as it turned out, was bread with cheese and pepperoni inside. So, more sophisticated than the rolled up pizza slice Remy had pictured. Apparently you were supposed to dip it in some fancy tomato sauce which is why Remy was surprised when Mr. Janus had them all move to the living room to eat. 

"Dad, can we watch Avatar?" Roman asked. 

"No, let's watch dirty jobs!" Remus told him. 

"How about mythbusters?" Roman countered. 

"Ah, ah," Mr. Janus told them, "what's the rule for guests?" 

" _Virgil,_ " They chorused, " _wanna watch-"_ "Avatar?" "Dirty jobs?"

"Um… what about Most Extreme...?" Virgil tried. 

"Yes!" 

"No!" 

"Two to one, we win!" Remus cheered. 

"Boys." Mr. Janus told them, "We have more than one guest, remember?" 

"Remy, say no!" Roman told him, "Then we pick a different show." 

"I don't really have an opinion." Remy told him, "What's "Most Extreme"?" 

"They take all the cool stuff from animals like eyes and teeth and show what it would look like if humans had the same ability." Remus told him, "It's neat!" 

"Its freaky is what it is." Roman told him. 

"That's what makes it cool!" 

"I'm gonna pass on the vote." Remy told them. 

"He's impartial so we win! The Most Extreme it is!" Remus turned to high five Virgil. 

Roman seemed a bit miffed at losing the vote, but it wasn't long before he was staring at the screen with as much interest as the other two. And honestly? Remy got it. The show was actually pretty cool. 

~ 

Patton smiled as Remy seemed to settle in again and get pulled into the show. He waited until the episode ended and everyone was done eating before moving to collect the empty plates. Unfortunately, the action quickly caught the attention of the teen. 

"Don’t worry, I got it." Patton assured as Remy moved to start cleaning up as well. 

"It's ok," Remy told him, as he paused somewhat hesitantly, "I don't mind." 

Patton smiled, "I appreciate it, but you don't have to. Janus and I are gonna clean up and then we'll probably be heading home." 

"Oh," Janus said suddenly, "while I'm thinking about it, we packed up some of our old clothes to donate. You guys can look through them for some play clothes." He told him. 

"Sure." Patton told him. 

"I'll be right back to help clean up." Janus said before leaving the room. 

~

Remy wasn't sure why he was suddenly on edge. All he knew was something felt off and he didn't like it. 

Mr. Janus came back a minute later with three large bags. "Ok," he said as he set them down, "look through and take anything." He told them before pointing to the twins, "No dress up this time." He told them. 

_"Why not?"_ Roman asked. 

"Because yesterday we had to cut your brother out of a shirt you both knew was too small." 

"I was a mutant giant what was I supposed to wear?" Remus asked indignantly. 

Remy bit back a smile. 

"Preferably something big enough to get yourself out of." Mr. Janus told him. 

" _Boring~"_ Remus drawled. 

Mr. Janus shook his head fondly, "No dress up." He told them again before leaving to help dad guy. 

The second he was gone the twins shared a look before quickly opening the bags and digging through them. 

Remy laughed slightly, "Didn't he just say "no dress up"?" 

"He said no dress up for _us,_ " Roman corrected, "but nothing about us dressing up you or Virgil." 

"And so long as he doesn't catch us too quickly we can do it too!" Remus grinned. 

Remy quickly turned down any attempts to get him to play dress up, and delegated himself to watching as the older boys coerced Virgil into trying on just about every piece of clothing. They had quickly moved on from the kids clothes that Virgil could feasibly fit in, or at least grow into soonish, to going through Mr. Janus’s old clothes just to wear them. 

Virgil was digging through the bag when he suddenly gasped, "Remy!" He said excitedly before pulling something out of the bag and bouncing over, "Look!" He beamed as he held up an old leather jacket, "It's like from the store!" 

"Uh, yeah, kinda." Remy admitted. 

"I don't remember that one." Roman told them, "It doesn't look like Dad or Noni's." 

"Dad!" Remus called.

"What happened?" Mr. Janus answered as he came around the corner before huffing a small laugh, "I see you ignored the dress up rule." 

Remus ignored the last part, "Whose jacket is this?" He asked; pointing to the coat Virgil was holding. 

Mr. Janus glanced at the jacket Virgil was holding, "That's my old one." He told them, "I haven't worn it since… probably since I was about twenty or so. That's when Noni gave me my other one." 

"How long ago was that?" Virgil asked. 

Mr. Janus laughed, "Long enough to know I don't need it, let's stick with that." 

_"That's Dad's way of saying he's old."_ Remus whispered causing Virgil to giggle. 

"I heard that." Mr. Janus told them with an amused eyebrow raise, causing the kids to laugh. Mr. Janus shook his head, "Anyway, like I said you're welcome to anything in the bags." He said with a glance to Remy, "Try not to smother your cousin in the clothes." He told them offhandedly as he went back to the kitchen. 

Something was definitely going on. 

"Try it on!" Virgil told Remy as he practically shoved the jacket at him. 

"I don't know, kid." Remy told him. This whole thing felt like way too much of a coincidence. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. This had to be a set up, right? 

"Why not?" Virgil asked. 

"I already have a coat, remember?" 

"Yeah but this one doesn't cost money." Virgil told him. _Dammit._ "And at the store you said these were cool." 

_Stop making good points._

"Oh! It could be part of your villain outfit!" Roman exclaimed, "All super villains need to look cool." 

"Otherwise they're just regular villains!" Remus added. 

"What's the difference?" 

_"Presentation!"_ All three told him. 

Ok, well he definitely ran into something there.

" _Pleeeease,_ Remy?" Virgil asked with wide eyes. 

_... Fucking puppy dog eyes._

Remy sighed, "Ok, fine." 

~

Patton peaked around the corner and smiled. For once he was glad Virgil had learned to weaponize his puppy eyes. 

~

Remy made sure that when dad guy and Mr. Janus came back that he was not wearing the jacket. Just in case. 

Thankfully neither mentioned it as they packed up the clothes Virgil. Or as they resorted the rest the kids had used for dress up. They all said their goodbyes, with Mr. Janus saying he hoped to see them again soon, and the twins telling Remy they wouldn't be going so easy on him next time. 

If dad guy seemed extra smiley on the way home, it was none of Remy's business. 

Remy was _not_ smiling to himself either. 

…Whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who was wondering, Virgil 100% knows what he's doing when it comes to puppy dog eyes. He was raised by Patton Can't-say-no-to-cute Sanders. And yes. He does use this for evil. 

**Author's Note:**

> I will write more of this for no other reason than I have ideas and scenes and more characters to introduce


End file.
